Indonesia exports set to decline this year

13 April 2011

Indonesia’s cement exports will likely decline this year, as most of the country’s major cement producers are focusing on the domestic market, according to Urip Timuryono, chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI)"Cement exports are likely to decrease to 1Mt or 2Mt this year from 3Mt last year as producers will allocate a larger part of their production to meet the surging demand in the domestic market," Urip told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Indonesia has eight cement companies with a total capacity of 53Mt. Three of them – PT Semen Padang, PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk. ("Indocement") and PT Semen Cibinong (Holhim) – were the major contributors to last year’s exports, destined mostly for Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Brunei.

Urip said that to meet domestic and export demands, cement companies plan to increase their total production to 45Mt this year from 41.5Mt in 2010.

He added that Indonesia imported 1.5Mt of cement from Malaysia last year in order to meet the growing domestic demand.

The increase in house construction, partly due to relatively low interest rates, has contributed to the surge in cement demand in the domestic market, he said. "The government’s program to develop infrastructure such as toll roads and bridges is also contributing to the high demand," he added.
Published under Cement News